If someone will suffer financially when you die, chances are you need life insurance. It’s really no more complicated than that. Simply ask yourself, if you died tomorrow, how would it affect your loved ones financially?

Life insurance provides a tax-free cash payment to your beneficiaries after your death.

If you are older, your focus might be providing money so your funeral and burial costs, medical and other bills, taxes, debts, lawyers’ fees and other final expenses won’t be a burden left to your loved ones.

If you are in your working years, you’ll also want to consider how your family would meet ongoing living expenses with your paycheck suddenly gone. Where would the money come from to pay for rent or your mortgage, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, etc.? Without your contribution to the household, would your surviving spouse be able to save enough money to put the kids through college or retire comfortably?

The fact is, the death of a loved one is tragic enough, without being compounded by financial difficulties. Life insurance helps make sure the people you care about will be provided for financially, if you’re not there to care for them yourself.